A
suburban town approximately 10 miles
south of
Boston, Massachusetts, Braintree was incorporated in
1640 as part of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony. Braintree houses 33,836 (2000
U.S. Census) people in its 14.52
square miles.
Braintree is well situated for both a commute to Boston, Massachusetts and a trip to the Cape. Braintree is the southernmost stop of the Red Line of the T and one of several on the Kingston/Plymouth commuter rail (aka Old Colony route). Also, Braintree is the location of the intersections between Route 128/Route 95 and Route 3 and between 128 and the Southeast Expressway/Interstate 93. Weymouth lies to the east, Quincy to the north and northwest, Randolph to the west and Holbrook to the south.
Old Braintree was the birthplace of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams,(although the area of town they were born in is now part of Quincy), as well asJohn Hancock, and General Sylvanus Thayer - the founder of West Point.
Braintree is now home to the South Shore Plaza, one of the largest malls in the northeastern United States. It is surrounded by office buildings, including a sizable center for Fidelity Investments, a Sheraton Tara Hotel, and several other retail areas.